Branded entertainment in focus

Recognising the growing significance of 'branded entertainment' concept in India, advertising majors are beefing up the operations of their respective entertainment wings. For starters, Leo Burnett India is planning to strengthen the operations of its specialist unit 'Leo Entertainment' while Group M, part of WPP Group Plc is planning to rebrand its non-traditional media wing 'Broadmind' as 'M Entertainment'. Meanwhile, Lintertainment, the entertainment wing of Lintas is planning to conduct market research projects at malls and movie houses to know how exactly consumers relate to entertainment products in India.

On the company's plans, Group M chief executive officer South Asia Ashutosh Srivastava said: "We will soon change the name of our entertainment wing as --M Entertainment--. As the concept of 'branded entertainment' is gaining momentum, we also plan to add capability and manpower to our entertainment division." According to Mr Srivastava, Group M's entertainment wing 'Broadmind' is already rebranded either as Mindshare Entertainment or M Entertainment in many countries across the globe. "Since Mindshare has a presence in India, Broadmind will be rebranded as M Entertainment," he added. On the other side of the spectrum, Leo Entertainment is planning to professionalise the 'branded entertainment' sector by bringing in fresh research on brands, movies and television programmes, according to Leo Burnett India chairman & managing director Arvind Sharma ."You can integrate the brand proposition of products to any entertainment content.In the BE sector, the challenge lies in reaching out to more production houses and clients.Which is why, we have recently extended the services of Leo Entertainment to Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad,"he said.

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